This post is going to be about Arsenal’s current form. Now we all know that Arsenal can win the League this season, the question that nobody seems so sure about is whether or not Arsenal will win the League. There are many myths about Arsenal having a poor defense and letting in easy goals. Maybe two seasons ago I wouldn’t have argued against those but last season, Arsenal had the second best defense in the league and this season, when Koscielny and Mertesacker have started and finished a game together, Arsenal haven’t lost. The midfield doesn’t need much said about it. I feel sorry for Arsene Wenger having to make a decision about which five to start each game. Up front Arsenal have Giroud. He looks a lot more confident in front of goal this season but its not his goalscoring which impresses me. I think that the best thing about Giroud is the way he holds up the ball, his first touch is class and his strength is also very good. Arsenal now look much more solid and in control which I put down to Flamini who could well be one of the best value signings the Premier League has ever seen. He’s made Arsenal a hell of a lot more solid, no more easy goals conceded and he was on a free. At the moment, I’m going to say that Arsenal can’t win the league due to squad depth but if they buy another striker in January and are still in the top two by then, I may just have to change my mind.

Sunday sees four absolute screamers take place with struggling to score Tottenham taking on in-form Newcastle. Relegation zone Sunderland take on under-achieving Man City. 1st place Arsenal take on 8th place Man Utd. Out-of-form Swansea host Stoke who are now playing football instead of rugby. The weekend should tell us a lot about the teams in the Premier League. Can Manchester United finally pull off a big win in the league? Will Arsenal continue their great form?Can Sunderland shock City? Can City continue their recent form to enter a Champions League spot? Can Tottenham score a goal from anywhere other than the penalty spot? Can Newcastle continue their great run? Can Swansea bounce back from Sunday’s Welsh derby? Can Stoke continue playing football on the ground? Here’s my score predictions:

Tottenham 1-1 Newcastle

Sunderland 1-4 Man City

Man Utd 1-3 Arsenal

Swansea 2-2 Stoke

Tottenham vs Newcastle will definitely be a close one. Tottenham are struggling for goals at White Hart Lane but are still looking solid defensively. Newcastle on the other hand look good on the attack and defensively. If it was at St. James’ Park, I would predict a Newcastle win but as Tottenham are at home, I predict a 1-1 draw.

Sunderland are looking better under Poyet than they did under Di Canio but I think that Manchester City will still be too good for them. City have started to look really good under Pellegrini, even though they aren’t yet in a Champions League spot, I still think they’ll win, I predict a 4-1 City win.

Manchester United may be at home but they look like a very average team this season with a few world-class players. Arsenal on the other hand look like this could be their year. Not an easy one to call but I still predict a 3-1 win to Arsenal who look astonishingly good at the moment. I must however note that I think Van Persie will score United’s goal.

Swansea look out of form and Stoke look in-form. That probably levels up the playing field. Its a close one to call and it could go either way but I think it’ll go neither way with a 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium.

All in all, an immense day of football to round off what should be an immense weekend of football, whatever happens, Arsenal will finish top and Sunderland and Crystal Palace will stay in the relegation zone, the rest can all change.

This Saturday may be overshadowed by the games that take place on Sunday but there’s still some real crackers in there. Cardiff travel to Aston Villa, West Brom travel to Chelsea, Crystal Palace will host Everton while Fulham travel to Anfield to face a strong Liverpool side, Southampton host Hull whilst West Ham travel to Norwich for the only televised match of the day. All games kick off at 15:00 GMT other than Norwich vs West Ham which kicks off at 17:30 GMT. My predictions for the games are:

Aston Villa 2-0 Cardiff.

Chelsea 4-0 West Brom

Crystal Palace 1-0 Everton

Liverpool 4-1 Fulham

Southampton 3-1 Hull

Norwich 1-2 West Ham

I don’t see Aston Villa losing at home to Cardiff even though they’ve lost Weimann to injury. Chelsea look much more confident and are finding it easier to score now, I see them comfortably beating West Brom who are struggling for goals. Crystal Palace will definitely be the underdogs when they host Everton but I see an upset on the cards, with Palace’s fans behind their team making some noise, it could be possible. Liverpool looked nervy in defense against Arsenal but I think they will bounce back with Sturridge and Suarez sharing the goals equally, I predict a 4-1 win for Liverpool. Southampton may have lost to Sunderland in the Capital One Cup during the week but they still look a good side and I just can’t see Hull pulling that one off. Norwich lost 7-0 to Man City last weekend and I think they’re poor run will continue, at least the scoreline wont look as bad though.

All in all, this Premier League Weekend could tell us a lot about where some teams are and we have six nice games to kick it off. I for one know that I’ll be watching Match of the Day tomorrow.

Just over two weeks after Paolo Di Canio’s sacking as Sunderland manager, former Brighton manager Gus Poyet has been named as Di Canio’s successor as head coach of Sunderland. The Black Cats sit rock bottom at the foot of the Premier League table and have only 1 point from 7 games this season. Poyet will hope to bring back Sunderland’s form, and rebuild their hopes of staying up this season.

Speaking to the club website, Poyet said: “I look forward to proving my ability to the fans – I want them to believe because we need to stick together.”

“I think the key behind my strong home record at Brighton was the connection with the fans – I can see that here,” added the 45 year old Uruguayan.

Poyet’s only previous managerial role was a four-year spell at second-tier Brighton and Hove Albion but he was sacked as manager in June earlier this year.

Although Di Canio similarly had no top-flight coaching experience when he was appointed in March, Poyet rejected comparisons between the two men saying: “The time of Paolo has come to an end and it is time to move forward,”

“We are all different. You cannot compare me to anyone. I am not better or worse, I am different. I don’t want to be compared to anyone, even the best. It is not right.”

Poyet becomes Sunderland’s sixth permanent head coach in less than five years and he will also be the first Uruguayan to manage a team in the Premier League.

He first came to England as a player in 1997, joining Chelsea from Real Zaragoza and winning the FA Cup, the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup, before spending three years at Tottenham Hotspur.

A goalscoring midfielder, he also played for Uruguay 26 times and was a member of the team that triumphed at the 1995 Copa America.

His managerial experience is limited to his time at Brighton but during that spell he led the south coast club to promotion from third-tier League One in 2011 before guiding them to the Championship play-offs last season.

He has also worked as a coach at Swindon Town, Leeds United and Spurs.

Poyet will be joined at the Stadium of Light by his former Brighton colleagues Mauricio Taricco and Charlie Oatway, and will work in conjunction with Sunderland director of football Roberto De Fanti.

Poyet’s first game in charge of the Black Cats will be a tough away match against Swansea.